Gifts

So thankful for the men and women who add to and sacrifice from busy lives and ministries to pour out their gifts at Emmaus! Miss Pam is still with us persevering through the works of Paul, Dr. Jeff Mansell, executive director of Seven Baskets Ministries and teaching for Indiana Wesleyan University completed his course on the Evangelistic Mandate of the Church, and Pastor Adam Godbold of Georgia took our students though the first half of the Doctrine of Holiness course. With seven littles under eleven and a church at home, he headed back yesterday, and Pastor Marshall Daigre will pick up where he left off for the second week!

Hearing these visiting men and women preach in chapel just moves me more than anything…it is worship, fresh and good teaching, in my heart language, something that is hard to find in Haiti unless you’re at Emmaus during VP season. What a gift to hear the Gospel in many languages, many times throughout each week.

I was particularly and unexpectedly moved yesterday in chapel before Jeff got to the pulpit. It was time for the pastoral prayer on English chapel day, and Jean-William led us in his earnest and plain-spoken English. Little by little we prayed through His world, through His hands…students and staff and visitors and Haiti and then on…on to war torn and persecuted countries, one after another, on to hurting people in hurting places, on to the men and women living and giving the Gospel in those places…all in Jean-Williams fourth language, beautifully child-like faith.

What a gift to bow together…to break together…to remember together, to beg of Him, to come to Him, to honor Him, to ask of Him, to glorify Him. It was sweetness I haven’t experienced in my prayer life for many days…so thankful.

I’m also so touched by how Jean-William’s heart and scope has GROWN since studying and pursing ministry in Italy, since praying to share the Gospel outside of our world…as he has changed, he leads our student body in thinking and praying outside of ourselves. What a gift serving is, how it grows us.